Yarn, as purchased, generally is wound on a skein in one of two ways: (1) such that the yarn may be unwound from the skein by pulling the loose outer end from the periphery of the skein "peripheral-winding skein", or (2) such that the yarn may be unwound from the skein by pulling the loose central end from the center of the skein along the skein's axis (an "axial-winding skein"). Throughout this discussion, these terms will be used when describing the unwinding of yarns for use without regard to how the yarn is actually wound into a skein by the manufacturer. Certain skeins are capable of use by pulling on either end and such a skein would be called herein by both names depending on which end of the yarn is used. Either type of skein is likely to knot or tangle if used as purchased, so typically a knitter will rewind the entire skein into a ball before beginning to knit with the yarn. In this way, the knitter can knit continuously from the ball without having to stop to untangle knots. Continuous, uninterrupted knitting is advantageous since the knitter is better able to maintain similar tension in the stitches throughout the knitted product.
Knitting from the yarn ball, however, has some disadvantages. When dropped, the ball of yarn has a tendency to roll; the knitter must then chase the ball of yarn and rewind the length of yarn unwound during the ball's travel. Knitting from a ball of yarn can be an inconvenience since the process of unwinding the yarn may cause the ball to roll away from the knitter. Further, the ball of yarn is an attractive play thing for pets. Yarn is typically a relatively loosely-woven multi-ply material, which is particularly prone to snagging. Thus, pets or sharp corners can easily damage exposed yarn. Snags in the yarn result in a flaw in the knitted product, and therefore are undesirable.
A variety of devices are known for dispensing twine, string, ribbon or the like. Typically, however, these devices are not adaptable for use with both peripheral- and axial-winding spools or skeins. Further, many of these devices do not include safeguards to protect the string or thread from snagging or fraying, since snagging is less of a concern with single-ply or tightly woven multi-ply materials than it is with yarn. Many of these devices include a cutting edge for severing the material contained. Such a feature is undesirable for a yarn-dispensing device since it creates a risk of fraying or cutting the yarn. Cutting a piece of yarn used in knitting a garment can be problematic since it is often desirable to have the entire piece made from a single uncut piece of yarn.
Thus, an easily transportable container for protecting yarn from snagging or fraying, adapted to dispense peripheral-winding as well as axial-winding skeins of yarn would be advantageous.